Anaheim’s District 3 City Council race has become a study in the old political axiom that the elemental question put to voters in an election year is whether they want change or to maintain the status quo.

The dynamic was on display Thursday during a candidates’ forum hosted by the Central Orange County League of Women Voters, with incumbent Councilman Jordan Brandman on the defensive for most of the evening.

With voters electing their council members by districts for the first time, Democrat Jose Moreno and Republican Robert Nelson both argued that this election is about ending the city’s focus on Disneyland and its resort district, and beginning to invest in neighborhoods.

“It’s not about electing a council person, it’s about shifting the power structure back to the neighborhoods,” Nelson said.

Nelson and Moreno consistently hammered Brandman, a Democrat who is vying for a second term, for his support of major tax subsidies for Disneyland and other luxury hoteliers.

Under the forum’s format, candidates answered questions submitted by members of the audience, who packed an atrium at the Downtown Anaheim Community Center.

Asked about his top campaign priority, Brandman said he would focus on “solidifying neighborhood integrity” by focusing on restoring staffing levels in the police and fire departments, fixing streets and sidewalks, and moving utilities underground citywide.

“Since I’ve been on the council, that’s what I’ve done in Anaheim. We’ve restored police officers and community policing…sidewalks are getting fixed, everything is improving,” Brandman said. “The neighborhood integrity of District 3 has never been stronger.”

Brandman’s opponents however, made the argument that the city’s neighborhoods and public facilities have been neglected, and invoked the hotel subsidies several times in response to questions on topics ranging from the city’s unfunded pension liability to street improvements.

“It goes back, again, to the fundamental issue – where are your priorities,” said Moreno, in response to a question about graffiti and road and sidewalk improvements.

Brandman, referring to the City Council’s decision to use bond money make street improvements, said the decision allowed them to accelerate street improvements.

“We have put in more street lights and slurried more streets, 33 new police officers, a new fire station, all this because that is what you wanted,” Brandman told the audience. “I would just like the opportunity to continue that progress.”

Nelson proposed creating a neighborhood improvement council to have staff and residents collaborate on public works projects, tree trimming, parking and other issues. He said the city should explore passing a gas tax to fund such projects.

Linda Lobatos, a Democrat and community volunteer who has not actively campaigned, said street improvements have not been seen in poor neighborhoods.

“If you go into the Colony District, it’s beautiful. And if you go into my neighborhood, you will see the big difference. I live in what they consider the hood, the barrio,” said Lobatos, who proposed reviving mural projects to engage youth and cover up graffiti.

Asked about gentrification and high demand for affordable housing, Brandman said Anaheim has built more affordable housing over the last decade than all other Orange County cities combined. He said he would support building even more.

“What you have in me is a fighter who…[will] continue to grow our budget through economic development and smart decision making so that there will be money to help build more affordable housing,” said Brandman. “You have that commitment from me, because I already have been doing it for you.”

Lobatos, Nelson and Moreno all suggested the city provide down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers.

Nelson said he would be against building any new low-income housing, as District 3 is already too dense in his opinion.

“Building more low income housing in this district is the wrong, wrong approach. We have too much of it now, we have to spread that around,” said Nelson.

Moreno said the city has built new housing that is too expensive for low income families. He brought the conversation back to the hotel subsidies.

“We either ask our corporate partners to pay them a working wage…or you don’t get the $560 million and we give 14,000 first-time home buyers a down payment assistance,” said Moreno.

Brandman, asked about his plans to improve local parks, said that the city has already started to restore facilities at several parks citywide, including La Palma and Little People’s Park in District 3.

Other candidates disagreed.

“It’s sad to see that even though there have been improvements, Little People’s Park still does not have a restroom,” said Lobatos.

“Our parks look like crap. I don’t care what [Brandman] says, they look like crap and people are not safe,” said Nelson. “I’m on the public safety board, and I did a mini-survey and nobody said they felt safe in a park in Anaheim after dark.”

Moreno said simply restoring existing parks won’t be enough, as the housing density of District 3 means increased demand.

“Folks go out to the parks to have their birthday parties because the apartment managers don’t let their kids play in the courtyard,” said Moreno.

Candidates were also asked to comment on home sharing, where a resident rents out a portion of their home, either though long-term sublets or short-term rentals to visitors.

Although the city recently banned short-term rentals in which the owner does not live in the home, they have yet to decide how to approach home sharing.

Moreno, Brandman and Nelson all said they were open to the idea. Nelson brought up concerns about parking and noise.

Lobatos said she would be in favor of home sharing, as she has had to rent part of her home out for income.

“It’s not that people choose to have other people in their homes, but they need to be able to sustain their families,” said Lobatos. “We have a lot of poverty.”

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JOIN THE DISCUSSION

I’m surprise because Pringle supported hotel jobs that hire Latino immigrants the most as maids and low skilled cooks. Maybe, he just wanted their cheap labor and not have them vote. Beats me.

Paul Lucas

Special Electins and midterm elections are the playground for Republicans. Low turn out overall but high turn out for Republicans. REPUBLICANS HATE CRONY CAPTALISM

mike

I hope these hotel builders leave and then the city can sit on aging and empty lands with little to no tax money coming in.
Maybe people will prefer places like the old motels on Katella where the police is constantly being called in for violence, prostitution and drug.
Some people don’t know what’s good for them.

Cynthia Ward

Mike, you are generally very knowledgable regarding the Resort, but in this case I would present an alternative viewpoint. The hotels are not going anywhere, because Disney is not going anywhere. So it is foolish to compare Anaheim, with a built in draw of over 20MM visitors a year coming to a fixed and permanent attraction, to the cities like Los Angeles and San Diego that we are supposedly competing with. They need to make themselves more attractive for lack of built in attraction. We don’t.

Yet the elected leaders insult our intelligence claiming we need to subsidize hotels to attract them, while they dismiss the value of the “subsidy” the tourism industry already receives in the expanded offerings at Disney that taxpayers ALREADY subsidize, with 27% of our General Fund this budget cycle, a number that is GROWING with each year until 2037 when it jumps to over $120MM. Taxpayers “invested” ONE AND A HALF BILLION in the expansion of DCA, DTDD, and Grand Californian Resort, while Disney invested ONE BILLION in the same expansion. The return on investment for Disney has been 100% of profits, as it should be for the business taking the risk. But where is the return on investment for the taxpayer? We forfeit 100% of TOT from the hotels, sales tax from shopping and meals, and all the property tax increase from turning the world’s coolest parking lot into a 2nd theme park back in 2000-2001. Our payoff was to be the increased revenue generated by the non-Disney hotels generating TOT we get to KEEP 80% of (after the 20% to bonds) and then of course 911 removed any incentive for travelers to see Anaheim, and just as we recovered from that horror (economists say it took until 2006) we had a couple decent years when the collapse of 2008 took out the economy. THAT is why no new hotels were built and THAT is why taxpayers keep paying the bonds to fund Disney’s parking garage and expansion and yet we get little in return. About 2013 the economy turned the corner and hoteliers began investing in Anaheim again, and records show that is the year Paul Sanford began meeting with Community Development staff to rebuild the Wincome hotels. Instead of rejoicing that we were finally going to get the return on our investment, City Hall chucked reason out the window, removed the requirement for developers to show a NEED for subsidy, and simply OFFERED all hotels a blanket 70% of their TOT to pocket instead of putting it into the General Fund to meet the rising needs of Anaheim. Just to maintain the already inadequate service levels of our crumbling city will take more money each year as our costs rise, but we won’t have the money to meet those needs, because what was anticipated to cover those bills has been handed over to the campaign donors of elected officials. For years we have been told our payoff is coming, we will fix the sidewalks and repave streets and make Anaheim the “City of Beautiful Parks” again…and now when we can SEE the potential for that revenue it has been gifted to the special interests that already enjoy 27% (and climbing) of our General Fund in taxpayer funded subsidy! ARGH!

So Mike, while you clearly know a great deal about the Resort, indeed I am sometimes gobsmacked at your knowledge of Resort logistics, I am afraid you misunderstand the economics behind the funding of the Resort or the reasons that the public investing in the Resort feels we have been shafted. There is good reason for taxpayers to be angry.

David Zenger

“Brandman said Anaheim has built more affordable housing over the last decade than all other Orange County cities combined. He said he would support building even more”

Maybe that’s because Jamboree Housing and AMCAL are still Curt Pringle clients? Just a wild guess.

And any boob who defends paying for asphalt slurry with borrowed money is twice a damn fool – once for doing it and again for trying to explain it away instead of apologizing.